I posted my lvl 60 warrior account here and on eBay for sale. Through eBay, I received a message from a person asking for my MSN Messenger ID so we could do instant messaging. I provided the information, and within an hour the person was online identifying themselves as "Harry" with an email address [email protected]. We negotiated on the price and we settled on a fair amount.
While this was going on, I took the original message I received from eBay and looked up that user. 100% positive feedback. It appeared the person mostly purchased motorcycle parts.
During instant messaging, the person was very friendly and was telling me they were installing WoW and it was updating. They sent me the money via PayPal.
The money showed it came from a [email protected]. I was provided with a telephone number and address. I did the phone number check and the area code matched the address. I mentioned that the name (Paula) did not match the IM name (Harry). I never actually said "Paula", only that the names did not match. The person IM'd me that their real name was Paula, a woman, and that she liked to use the name Harry in instant messaging for personal security.
I checked on the PayPal information, and [email protected] was a verified premier user of PayPal. It all looked really good.
Money was received into my PayPal account. I did receive a notice from PayPal that the money transaction type used by the sender did not grant me PayPal protection. I asked about this, and was told by "Paula" that she sent payment as "quasi-cash" instead of payment for an auction, and therefore I would receive that warning, but the money was there and in my account. It all sounded good to me.
1. eBay checked - 100% positive feedback
2. PayPal checked - verified premier user
3. Address and phone number checked
4. Person was able to provide me the proper name used for the PayPal payment
5. Payment received in my account.
I gave the person user name and password for the WoW account. They said they were installing WoW and it was updating and they would go in and change the password. I logged off.
A few hours later I logged into PayPal and my balance was $0. I have a message that the payment had been reversed and that PayPal was investigating. I sent an email to PayPal demanding an investigation, and informing them of what had happened to me. I sent emails to both the yahoo and hotmail accounts asking the person if there was some kind of mistake.
PayPal contacted me first. I was not protected because the transaction involved digital goods, which according to PayPal is not protected in any way, shape or form. According to PayPal, the payment did not come from [email protected], but from another source outside of the U.S. No further information.
Then I got an email from Paula Drayton, who tells me she's never heard of WoW, knows nobody who plays computer games, but she will contact PayPal to see if someone has hacked her account.
I sent an eBay message to the eBay person where I originally go the request to buy the account, and they also claim to know nothing about WoW or know anybody who plays it.
It appears whoever the person was was able to send me messages making it appear they were coming from a specific eBay user, and a specific yahoo address, but it was actually originating from someone outside of the U.S. They were able to get the address and phone number of the PayPal account holder. Obviously, I should have called the number and talked to the person, but it all seemed so sincere. You always want to hope the best from people.
So, lost a lvl 60 account with lots of nice epics and thousands of hours of playtime. I saw that person log in for the first time last night, and I sent them plenty of in-game tells calling them a thief and an [censored], but they just put me on ignore.
If you deal with PayPal, I recommend you transfer the money to another account (3-5 business days) before you provide any login or password information. Follow the advice provided on this forum and call the number provided. Don't get duped like I did.
While this was going on, I took the original message I received from eBay and looked up that user. 100% positive feedback. It appeared the person mostly purchased motorcycle parts.
During instant messaging, the person was very friendly and was telling me they were installing WoW and it was updating. They sent me the money via PayPal.
The money showed it came from a [email protected]. I was provided with a telephone number and address. I did the phone number check and the area code matched the address. I mentioned that the name (Paula) did not match the IM name (Harry). I never actually said "Paula", only that the names did not match. The person IM'd me that their real name was Paula, a woman, and that she liked to use the name Harry in instant messaging for personal security.
I checked on the PayPal information, and [email protected] was a verified premier user of PayPal. It all looked really good.
Money was received into my PayPal account. I did receive a notice from PayPal that the money transaction type used by the sender did not grant me PayPal protection. I asked about this, and was told by "Paula" that she sent payment as "quasi-cash" instead of payment for an auction, and therefore I would receive that warning, but the money was there and in my account. It all sounded good to me.
1. eBay checked - 100% positive feedback
2. PayPal checked - verified premier user
3. Address and phone number checked
4. Person was able to provide me the proper name used for the PayPal payment
5. Payment received in my account.
I gave the person user name and password for the WoW account. They said they were installing WoW and it was updating and they would go in and change the password. I logged off.
A few hours later I logged into PayPal and my balance was $0. I have a message that the payment had been reversed and that PayPal was investigating. I sent an email to PayPal demanding an investigation, and informing them of what had happened to me. I sent emails to both the yahoo and hotmail accounts asking the person if there was some kind of mistake.
PayPal contacted me first. I was not protected because the transaction involved digital goods, which according to PayPal is not protected in any way, shape or form. According to PayPal, the payment did not come from [email protected], but from another source outside of the U.S. No further information.
Then I got an email from Paula Drayton, who tells me she's never heard of WoW, knows nobody who plays computer games, but she will contact PayPal to see if someone has hacked her account.
I sent an eBay message to the eBay person where I originally go the request to buy the account, and they also claim to know nothing about WoW or know anybody who plays it.
It appears whoever the person was was able to send me messages making it appear they were coming from a specific eBay user, and a specific yahoo address, but it was actually originating from someone outside of the U.S. They were able to get the address and phone number of the PayPal account holder. Obviously, I should have called the number and talked to the person, but it all seemed so sincere. You always want to hope the best from people.
So, lost a lvl 60 account with lots of nice epics and thousands of hours of playtime. I saw that person log in for the first time last night, and I sent them plenty of in-game tells calling them a thief and an [censored], but they just put me on ignore.
If you deal with PayPal, I recommend you transfer the money to another account (3-5 business days) before you provide any login or password information. Follow the advice provided on this forum and call the number provided. Don't get duped like I did.
